About Us

The mission of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, directed by Dr. Joseph T. Giacino, is to advance the development of effective methods of assessment and treatment for persons who sustain severe acquired brain injury and disorders of consciousness (DoC). Existing approaches to diagnostic and prognostic assessment remain imprecise in this population and very few therapeutic options are available. The lab’s primary research aims are centered on improving the accuracy and efficiency of standardized behavioral assessment, developing novel diagnostic and prognostic applications of neuroimaging and testing the effectiveness of neuromodulatory interventions targeting patients with DoC. To further this mission, we have developed a broad array of inter-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

About Joseph T. Giacino, PhD, Director of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Neurorehabilitation Laboratory

Dr. Joseph Giacino is Director of Rehabilitation Neuropsychology at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Associate Professor of PM&R at Harvard Medical School, and Adjunct Professor at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Dr. Giacino co-chaired the Aspen Workgroup, which established diagnostic criteria for the minimally conscious state and chaired the Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) Guideline Development Panel jointly sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology, American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, and National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. He is the Project Director of the Spaulding-Harvard TBI Model System and co-leads the Outcomes Core of the “Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI” and “TBI Endpoint Development Initiative” projects, aiming to validate clinical, imaging, and genomic biomarkers to improve TBI diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, and serves as Co-PI on a grant assessing “Central Thalamic Stimulation for Traumatic Brain Injury.”